I feel like I was just writing my October adventures...this year is going by so fast!! I’m not complaining too much though because Thanksgiving/Christmas time is my favorite time of year :) As I said last month, I attended the She Did it Her Way summit and met some amazing women. Since being home I have been able to talk further with Danielle, who owns a social media marketing company, who gave me some awesome tips and perspective. I also collaborated with Tess Wicks. Closet Organization is something I get asked about all the time. Tess took my 6 simple steps to closet organization and put them into action and filmed it for you all to see! Check it out here :) I am so proud of this collaboration because Tess does a great job bringing these steps to life and proving it can be done!!​ These past two months I feel like I should’ve just lived in Chicago because I was back and forth so much! I went back one more time for the Powerful Partners Dinner Party hosted by Megan Wessels. This was an experience I am so grateful for and I am in awe of all the savvy, go-getter women I was able to meet. While I was in Chicago I was able to catch up with a good friend from college, Beth. We were both Industrial Engineering at Iowa State and got to know each other even better through St. Thomas Aquinas, the Catholic Church & Student Center. She now has a big girl job and making it in the city. I don’t know about you, but isn’t it awesome to see your friends thriving and kicking ass at adulting?!

***Keep reading to find out the new and exciting changes happening for Opt Org!!***

Happy Tuesday, everyone! This week we are talking about everything home command centers. The beautiful thing about command centers is that they are completely personalized. Let’s start with the basics.What is a home command center?A command center is a space in your home that you and your family can go to and see a variety of compiled information. Every family is different, so each command center will look different too! For this very reason I asked a few ladies to answer a few questions regarding their home command centers. They are all mothers, and between the three of them they have children ranging in age from three years old to ten years old. Without further adue, here is their advice! :)

Mother #3's Home Command Center

How long have you had this system/space set up?

1 year

8 years

~3 months

What led you to implement a HCC in your home?

It was getting frustrating trying to coordinate the kids’ schedules and ours.

We had too many moving pieces to fly by the seat of our pants. It took the stress away by having a single place to touchdown.

With both parents with full-time jobs and 3 busy sons, we needed a (single) space to keep up focused on our school/work/sports schedules.

What elements do you have in your HCC and why did you choose to include them?

Meal planning - Meal Calendar, recipe cards & cookbook page numbers we’ll use that week and a grocery list. Current Month Calendar (white board) - color coded for each member of the family, along with calendars for future months (paper) so we can plan ahead and make it easier to transfer over to the white board. We also have a space where we can tack up important papers (from the kid’s school, car information, etc.). Mail/receipt slot & hooks for the kid’s backpacks and coats!

Calendar, Grocery lists that sync up to meal plan, the meal plan itself, a spot for bills, and apps that are shared for the adults so there is no overlap.

2 months of color coded calendars - I like to look ahead. A chalkboard with the boy’s chore chartsand a 4 basket system from Hobby Lobby for all the papers/bills/school work!

How does having a command center make your life easier?

The kids know where things go, we don’t waste time looking for recipe cards/searching through cookbooks, and we all (including the 5 year old) know where to look for certain things/information.

Things aren’t purchased twice and there is no question about the day’s events! The biggest advantage is synchronization and better communication.

All five of us know where we need to be (calendars) and expectations (chores). Having the color coded calendar also helps.

What advice do you have for those thinking of implementing a HCC in their home?

Think about what is most important for your family to have easy access to. My husband and I both wrote down what we would want in a command center before we started one and we talked through what was on our list and why. Once we discussed, we made a plan and started our current system. Also, make sure you update it!

Try out a few options and see what is best for your family. You don’t have to do it all, maybe just a meal plan is enough for your family.

Do it! Plan it ahead of time. Think about what you need access to daily and the things you tend to forget. Make it user friendly so even the kids know what’s going on.

Mother #1's Home Command Center

For a family with no children, my husband and I use a different system. We have a hanging file sorter from Home Goods with two sections. One for outgoing mail and the other for receipts (it was a Good Find Friday!). We also have a pad of paper for a quick add of things to get the next grocery trip. I meal plan and make the full grocery list in my inkWell Press Meal Planner Journal. My husband likes things stored electronically, so we share our calendars via Google Calendar. I am also transitioning to using Asana for both personal and business, but I still love my paper planner, also, inkWell Press. ;) As you can see, it all depends on what your family needs! A huge thanks to these ladies for taking the time out of their busy days to give their advice on Home Command Centers!!

Happy Tuesday, friends!! So happy that you’ve made your way to today’s blog post. Today’s topic is one that I find to be many people’s pain point. I’m here to tell you, it is possible to organize your closet using these 6 simple steps!! ​(Click "Read More!")

There are a million and one tips for being productive. In my search to being more productive myself, I’ve found the secret: *drum roll please* It’s all about you. If you were to take a compiled list of all the tips, they could either be the best or worst tip for you. The secret to them all is you. That being said, don’t be discouraged if one doesn’t work for you. Try them out one at a time and pick and choose your favorites and the ones that fit best in your lifestyle. My favorites can be broken up into three categories:

1. Tasks to Wake up to a clean home

Do the dishes & wipe down the counters. It’s amazing how big of a difference going to sleep/waking up to a clean kitchen makes.

Hang up/fold any clothes or put them in the hamper. All items of clothing should have a home in your dresser or closet, leaving none for your floor 😊

2. Making your morning more productive

The only clothes that should be out is the outfit you are planning on wearing the next day.

As you’re putting away dinner leftovers and cleaning up the kitchen, make or portion out your lunch for the next day. Having this ready to grab and go in the morning will save you precious morning minutes.

Try to find at least one thing you can automate in the morning. For example, the coffee-pot. When I used to work at 5am, I would go to bed with my to-go coffee mug next to the coffee pot, water bottle filled, clothes laid out, breakfast fixings ready to go (on the counter or in the fridge), work bag/purse packed and ready to go and my lunch packed. My mornings from getting out of bed to walking out the door got down to 30 minutes max! (If you know me, you know that 30 minutes total is kind of a miracle…)

3. ​Gratitude and Goals

In a journal or notebook keep track of your goals. Each night, write down 2-3 goals you have for the next day. This puts you in the right mindset for the morning and gives you focus for the tasks the next day. In addition to writing new goals, look back at what you wrote the night before. Did you accomplish them? If not, why?

In a separate journal make a gratitude list. A little pocket notebook is great for this. Each night, write 1 thing you’re grateful. It could be one word, one name or a phrase. By only doing one it is not overwhelming and it’s fast and simple. This compiled gratitude list is wonderful to look back on when you’re feeling down in the dumps. Some ideas are people you encountered/reconnected with that day, the weather, or getting all green lights on your way to work! Your gratitude item can be big or small. All you do, no matter the size or impact is contributing to creating the life you want to live and that’s pretty awesome. I suggest doing this last. Ending your day with gratitude is so important for manifesting abundance. Being grateful to God, the Universe or whatever higher power you believe in (if you do) leaves room to see and accept all the wonderful things that are coming your way. October’s last #GoodFindFriday, the book You are a Badass by Jen Sincero talks all about this. A great read and I highly recommend it!

By preparing for tomorrow and being in the right head space of gratitude, you will feel accomplished and feel like everything is organized and in line. You won’t be as rushed in the morning which I think automatically improves your mood and productivity. So, my friend, pick one category to implement, or one step at a time. When it comes to organization, slow and stead wins the race. It’s all about sustaining what you implement. Good luck! I’d love to hear your experience or journey. Tell me about it here!!

Author

Emily has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University. There she learned how valuable organization can be in being productive. She chose to use this knowledge and help others achieve this productivity and optimization in their homes and small businesses. Read & Enjoy and as always, let us know if you have any questions!